A collaboration between mobile operator MTN and the South African Police Services has led to the arrest of a key suspect said to be one of the kingpins in the recent spate of SIM swap fraud.
According to MTN, the company's forensic services team worked closely with the Wierdabrug police in Centurion to track down and arrest an individual MTN says is "linked to the fraudulent SIM swaps of MTN customers and perpetrating further scams nationwide".
SIM swap scams involve criminals gaining access to customers' bank account details - including PINs and passwords. MTN says it does not know for certain how this information is compromised. "[MTN] understands it can be done through phishing or when a customer's personal documents such as ID documents are compromised."
Phishing involves fraudsters sending e-mails to unsuspecting targets creating the impression that the e-mail comes from the customers' bank - or another typically trusted source. Customers are asked to update their personal and banking data, allowing access to their online financial platforms.
Once in possession of these bank details, the fraudster performs a SIM swap, thereby taking over the victim's cellphone number in order to receive the one-time passwords and bank notifications that enable transfers, adding of beneficiaries, etc.
Lilly Zondo, MTN's business risk general manager, says a special team has been tasked with initiating security measures to protect MTN customers against SIM swap fraud, such as an "improved authentication process" used during the SIM swap process. "This delays the SIM swap until the legitimate customer has confirmed the request via SMS. We continue to find and implement security controls to eliminate fraud using cellphones."
Zondo says the operator is tightening its systems development processes in a bid to improve security and service delivery.
MTN was unable to provide further details regarding the arrest. "The matter is now sub-judice."
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